


Prom Night

by IanPeriwinkle



Series: Damian and Iris' Ridiculous Love Life [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics), The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Bullying, F/M, I hope you like my OCs, In all seriousness I'm working through some long abandoned issues here, M/M, Other, Please Be careful, Prom Night, Self-Harm, Smells like teen spirit, Substance Abuse, Teenage Drama, Underage Drinking, Underage Substance Use, Vomit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-19 11:58:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15509394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IanPeriwinkle/pseuds/IanPeriwinkle
Summary: Damian and Iris are preparing for Prom Night.  Lian is preparing to go out with someone for the first time in her life. Owen and Josh are disgusted by the older teenagers getting their romance on. Spitfire has issues with all of this.And Jai? Well, Jai and Colin have issues of their own to work out.





	1. Don't Drink and Kiss, Kids

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! If you're going to read this, please be warned that there's discussion of bullying, self-harm, and substance abuse in here. For the most part I've tried to keep it light-hearted though.

Jai West was fortunate enough to come to terms with his sexuality at a young age. He was apprehensive about telling his father (after years of hearing the story repeated of how Wally ran away from his best friend down the side of a building upon finding out he was gay), but eventually with the support of his honorary Uncle Piper, Piper's husband David, and his straight, but incredibly supportive and non-judgmental sister, he came out over a family dinner that ended up being dramatic for a completely different reason, when Bart made the announcement that he and Rose were getting married.

There were a few benefits to having come out so early on in life. For one thing, he was more than comfortable in his sexuality by the time he was expected to start dating, so he didn't have to deal with awkwardly avoiding the topic of why he wasn't interested in any girls, and he didn't have to face any teasing from his family over the girls that he was friends with. It also meant that he became somewhat of a consult for his fellow child superheroes, which was equal parts a blessing and a curse. With Iris it was easy enough - she was straight and cis and had no real reason to question that, no matter how many times her father questioned her motives behind cutting her hair short ("It's for aerodynamics, Daddy. I don't know _what_  Lady Flash and Jesse Quick were thinking back in the day!"). Lian Harper's out and open bisexual father encouraged her from a young age to be unapologetically herself, and so as soon as she realised it, she came out as bisexual as well. Damian Wayne was harder. Jai had had a crush on the older boy for years, and when he and Damian spent some time talking about how he thought he might be bisexual ("It's okay if you are"), and didn't know how to tell his father ("He'll be fine with it"), and what if he got kicked out ("Uncle Dick will always take you in"), and what if his family disowned him ("They won't, I promise"), there was a small part of Jai that hoped Damian would end up asking him out in the end. He was completely crestfallen when Damian ended up asking out Iris instead.

Helping his friends out also helped him secure a place in their Teen Titans group when they eventually got it up and going. It was a small group - since not many of the heroes had children who survived, and there didn't seem to be many with powers appearing in the open to join them, there wasn't a huge roster to choose from, and it felt more like Young Justice than the iconic Teen Titans most of their parents had been part of. At first it was just Damian as Robin, Jai as Tech, Iris as Impulse, Lian as Speedy, and Colin Wilkes, who stayed behind and helped them with their tech, and that was fine by them. They helped each other train and grow, and actually managed to go a few years without any major dramas or deaths within the team (which they were pretty sure was a new record). And despite the gnawing feeling in his chest every time he saw another couple, Jai was absolutely fine with the fact that between high school, Titans, and his music lessons with Piper, by sixteen years old he'd never been on a date. It was fine.

* * *

"So do you have any idea what's actually wrong with him?" Lian reached over and poked Iris with an arrow lightly, making her roll over and make some room on the queen mattress that they'd somehow managed to squeeze into the treehouse in Lian's backyard. They were in the midst of a "girl's night", which for the two girls mainly included eating as much junk food as their respective metabolisms could handle, playing video-games, occasionally sneaking out to fight minor crimes (aided by the police radio that Jai had salvaged for them), and, most importantly, bitching about the boys in their team while they had the chance to do so. And they really needed the time away now, what with prom season approaching, and the recent additions of _more boys_  to the Teen Titans; the resurrected Josh Jackham and Owen Mercer, and a small, angry little blonde boy who popped out of nowhere one day and was going by Spitfire (and could literally spit fire), but wouldn't tell them anything about himself beyond that.

Iris let out a heavy sigh and moved so that Lian could join her, immediately curling around to spoon Lian when she lay down. "I have no clue," she pouted, "He never tells me anything anymore. I just hope he's okay,"

The boy in question this time was Jai. Lian was extremely sympathetic to her friend, who somehow managed to be closest to both of the most emotionally needy members of their team. "I'm sure he's fine," She assured her, wrapping an arm around Iris' waist and squeezing. "It's not like he's going to follow you and Damian around at prom and third wheel, y'know?" She laughed a little, expecting Iris to join in, but the red-head had a thoughtful look on her face.

"Actually, I wouldn't put that past him," She said quietly, "He's already shy, and parties always make it worse. Maybe I can just ditch him with Uncle Piper - he's meant to be chaperoning."

It felt mean, but Lian had to agree with Iris there. Ditching Jai was probably going to be her best bet at enjoying prom (which made her incredibly sad - when had they started drifting away from him?). "Who knows, maybe he'll find a date?"

That comment actually did get a laugh out of Iris, and it distracted them for a few minutes while they came out of the gloomy mood that had settled around them..

"So," Lian eventually broke the silence, "you've already got your dress, right? Show me," and she reached over her friend to grab her phone out of the charging dock. She let Iris unlock it, and then scrolled through to look at the pictures of Iris in her dress. She'd picked a long, sleek, red dress, with a high neckline and no sleeves. She was already tall, and it flattered her ridiculously well. Lian let out a high-pitched squeal and squeezed her friend tight, "Oh my gosh, it's so pretty on you!" She enthused, "Is Damian going to match?"

Iris nodded, face flushed from embarrassment at the praise. Damian had been the one to buy the dress for her, and he'd picked out a matching tie and pocket square to wear with his well-cut black suit. He was already a celebrity, _and_  shorter than his girlfriend, so he wanted to avoid drawing any extra attention to himself with flashy suits. Getting a designer suit wasn't flashy by his standards, though, and Iris wasn't entirely convinced he'd managed his goal. "We're going to look great," She said. She didn't sound very excited - more embarrassed and awkward, but inside Iris was happy beyond belief.

Lian pulled out her own phone and flicked through it for a moment before passing it over. "So, I got asked out by one of the juniors at my school," She pointed out the freckled kid in the Instagram post and smiled - a little shyly, actually, which was an odd look for the usually confident girl. "Their name is Darwin. We're in the debate team together," She elaborated.

"Oh my gosh!" Lian had been flirted with by practically everyone for-basically-ever, but as far as Iris knew (and Iris knew her best friend's life pretty damn well, thank you very much) she'd never said yes to someone. "So are you going to prom with them?"

"Yep!"

"Oh my /gosh/!" She repeated, and pulled her friend in for another hug. "They're so cute! That's awesome,"

They ended up gushing over their respective dates for hours - much longer than they usually got to spend - and went to bed satisfied that they were going to have the time of their lives in the coming weeks. Of course, neither of them saw any of the calls that started coming in after they fell asleep.

* * *

Colin, unable to reach Iris, ended up resorting to something the Teen Titans had sworn never to do when they first began their team - ratting a team-mate out to their parents. He'd walked into the Tower, prepared to stay the weekend (despite no scheduled meeting) and do some updates, only to find Jai passed out on the communal sofa with an almost empty bottle of vodka in one hand and his phone displaying a pretty hateful message in the other from a guy, probably in Jai's year at school (though Colin couldn't be certain).

Now, none of the Titans held any illusion that Jai was popular. He was shy, kind of geeky, and even though he was gorgeous and quite fit, he tended to ruin his image whenever he spoke, making cruel and callous remarks without much thought behind it. But Colin hadn't realised that people actively disliked Jai - and even less so that it would cause his friend to be so miserable. So Colin did what any concerned friend would do (in his experience) and called Jai's father. After the awkward call, he took the bottle out of Jai's hand, turned off his phone, and pulled a spare blanket out of Jai's room there to wrap over him. Mr. West had sounded concerned, but was preoccupied with something else (as he often was when it came to his son), so the Pied Piper was going to fly over from Keystone to New York (in the dead of night) to rescue his sort-of godson (who was actually Nightwing's godson, but Nightwing was about as busy as the Flashes typically were, so probably couldn't make it).

Once he was sure Jai wasn't going to freeze, he sat down and pulled his head into his lap, pulling back the slightly greasy hair to stroke it. Jai had been growing it out since he was ten, and now it fell half-way to his waist, usually secured in a bun or a plait. At the moment it was all out, though - a tangled mess. Colin wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed, but in the past few weeks (coincidentally, as prom had begun approaching) Jai had grown more sullen and withdrawn than usual, snapping at people more easily, and taking it out particularly on the younger members of the Titans. When he was asleep, he couldn't see any of that.

He was shocked out of his deep thoughts when a painted black fingernail tapped against his lip, and he looked down into Jai's bleary, sleepy eyes. "Hi," Jai said, voice drunkenly slurring.

"Hi," Colin repeated back, which for whatever reason made Jai laugh. "Are you... okay?" It felt like an awkward question to ask, and it must have been because it just made Jai laugh even harder.

"Yeah," Jai eventually replied, once his laughter subsided. His smile dropped a little, but he maintained a soft smirk. "Yeah, I think I'm okay, I just --" His eyes shifted awkwardly to the side, and his lips pursed. "Wait," He looked back up at Colin, smirk renewed, "am I in your lap?"

Colin felt his face flush as bright as his hair, and he nodded.

"Aw, that's nice," Jai reached up again with the same hand to pat Colin's cheek. For once he didn't seem to be doing this as teasing, or with malice. "Y'know, I like you Colin. You're always so," He scrunched up his face adorable, trying to think of the right word, "nice."

"Um... thank you?"

"No, I really mean it this time," Jai shifted a little to sit up, which had the unfortunate consequence of causing him to elbow Colin, not that he really noticed. "I mean it, Colin. I like you. I know I'm kind of a shit, but --" His face was abnormally stricken. He sat quietly for a moment, staring into Colin's eyes, before muttering "fuck it," and pulling Colin in for a kiss.

It was wet, and Jai tasted a little like vomit, and Colin wasn't so sure he wanted to be doing this, but he didn't pull away from Jai, and even found himself leaning in a bit, moving his mouth against his friend's. After what felt like ages, Jai finally pulled back. Colin wasn't sure whether he should be upset that there seemed to be embarassed tears in Jai's eyes, but he didn't have much time to think about it before he was startled again by Jai throwing up directly into his lap.

"Oh my god," Jai mumbled, and put his face in his hands. "Oh my god, nooooo,"


	2. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help arrives in the form of everyone's favourite honarary uncle.
> 
> Colin has some realisations about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, there are mentions of self-harm in here. Please be careful when reading!

Colin went immediately into first aid mode, making quick work of stripping them of the blanket before steering a quietly sobbing Jai to one of the bathrooms, and making his own way to the one attached to his room. He sincerely hoped that the vomiting was just because of the alcohol, and that he hadn't upset his friend to the point where he was sick.

He rested his forehead against the cool tiles while relishing the feel of the hot water stripping away any remaining puke that may have managed to get onto him. One hand reached up to rest against his lip, and he felt his face flush, remembering the feel of Jai's against his own.

In all his eighteen years, Colin had never thought about anyone in a romantic or sexual way. He had been starting to think he might be ace, but something about that kiss was making him question everything he knew about himself - because, dammit, though he'd always hated the idea of kissing, he'd never actually tried it, and he couldn't deny the fact that even with the flavour of vomit and the drunken slobber, he'd enjoyed it. He hade sure to scrub himself down thoroughly with soap, getting rid of any traces of the vomit left (and the feel of Jai's hands on his face), then got dressed in some scrubby comfy clothes, and headed back towards Jai's bathroom with his dirty clothes in hand. He'd thrown the blanket in the washing machine already - his plan was to just throw the clothes in and wash them all together.

He knocked lightly on the door to the bathroom, and called out to Jai. He waited a few moments, and when he didn't get a reply, knocked again, this time a bit louder. "Hey, are you alright in there?"

There still wasn't a response, so Colin tried the door, and, finding it open, went in. Jai was sitting on the floor of the shower. He'd managed to get himself undressed and turned on the water, but he didn't seem to have made much effort to actually wash off - just sitting there letting it pour over him. "Hi," He greeted Colin, not moving from his seat.

"Hey," Colin greeted back. "I'm just gonna grab these..." He reached down to pick up Jai's abandoned clothes. "Did you want me to grab you some of your stuff to wear?" He offered, noting that Jai didn't seem like he would be moving anytime soon. He had gotten a text from Piper when he was in the shower, letting him know that they still had another hour until he got there (probably with some choice words for Jai).

Jai nodded lazily, before looking directly up into the water and closing his eyes. He had a blissful expression on his face, and Colin found himself hoping that maybe he'd be able to see some more of Jai looking so carefree in the future, rather than the judgemental looks he usually saw the teen give. He ended up saying a quiet goodbye and leaving the room, hoping to get the wash on before any of the Titans who lived at the tower realised what had happened.

Of course he and Jai wouldn't be that lucky. He had to suppress a groan when he saw the two youngest Titans peering into the laundry, and upon hearing his approaching footsteps they turned to look at him. Spitfire had a disgusted look on his face, and scrunched up his nose when he saw Colin. "Why's there puky stuff in there?" He asked, gesturing to the doorway. "Did you get sick?"

Josh backed away a little at the thought, but leaned forward again when he examined what Colin was carrying. "Wait - you don't wear black," He noted.

Colin walked past them as briskly as he could, while they tried to peer around him.

"So you got sick... and someone else," Josh reached back into the washing machine after Colin dumped the clothes to examine the black band shirt that he'd found Jai in. "Was it Jai?"

Dang, the kid must be dumb as rocks. Jai was the only member of the Titans that wore band shirts, and definitely the only one who wore shirts that small (though Lian would if she could, her breasts made it impossible).

"Yes, it was Jai," Colin told him softly, taking the shirt from his hands and dropping it back in. He put one of the detergent pods in with the clothes, and closed the lid of the machine, setting it to a cold wash. "Jai got sick, and he got sick on me, and so we're both cleaning up. Is that okay with you?"

Josh nodded absently, immediately accepting Colin's story and moving on, but Spitfire looked up at him with the same scrunched-up face. "Why's he sick?"

_God_ , Colin did not want to deal with that question tonight. "He's just sick, S. I don't know why; I'm just trying to make him better."

The boy didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything in response - just huffed, and pulled Josh with him out of the room. Ever since joining the Titans, Spitfire had been moody, aggressive, and unwilling to bond with his team-mates. It was kind of nice to see him showing some concern over Jai, and seemingly becoming friendly with Josh, even though he was pretty aggressive in doing so. In fact, it actually reminded Colin a little bit of what Damian was like when he first came to the US - not that he'd ever tell Damian that.

He slowly made his way back to the bathroom, in the hopes that taking more time would give Jai more opportunity to get up and get clean. He made sure to stop by Jai's room first to get some clothes, and was more than a little bit shocked when he opened the door. The Jai he had always known was a neat freak - he was organised, clean, and punctual, and hated anything to be out of place. But his room was currently in a state of disarray, with clothes (and dirty clothes, at that) piled on the floor, and strewn across the bed. There were some used plates and half-eaten food on his barely visible desk (though the computer setup seemed to be unaffected), and Colin was honestly surprised that he couldn't smell the mess from outside.

He covered his nose, and waded through the mess to the uniform chest of drawers that all of their rooms had, and grabbed the first things he reached, before backing out of the room and closing the door behind him. He had the sinking suspicion that not all was right with Jai at the moment - he just didn't know what was wrong, or how to help his troubled friend.

* * *

 

Piper had long since become accustomed to actually getting a full night's sleep, since benching himself after an accident that fortunately didn't have any long-term affects, but did nearly kill him. He had re-evaluated what he wanted (and more importantly, what he needed) out of life, and had come to the decision with his then-boyfriend, now-husband, that he should become a reserve rather than an active crime-fighter. He still got his fix of helping people at the homeless shelter.

So when he received a call on his emergency line at close to midnight, he was more than a little bit shocked. "Wally?" What is it, I'm --"

Wally had cut him off, and explained (in a somewhat bored tone that ticked Hartley off a little) that something had happened to Jai, alcohol was involved, and can he please drive out to the Tower because there aren't any adults there and Wally trusts Piper so much more with this than any of the other heroes. Yes, he was a little bit flattered to be trusted like that, but he was still more annoyed than anything else.

He huffed and hung up on Wally after assuring him he'd go and rescue Jai from whatever he'd gotten himself into, then snuck quietly back into the bedroom to kiss his husband goodbye before heading out to his car. He'd have to take the private jet that the Justice League kept in all major cities for emergencies. He wasn't a fan of using anything that belonged to Batman, but when duty called...

In all honesty, Hartley wasn't entirely surprised that it was Jai who needed his help. He wasn't around when Jai had lost his powers, but from what he had heard it had taken a strong emotional toll on the boy, and he'd become sullen and withdrawn - how he was when Hartley had first met him. It had reminded him a lot of his own childhood, and so Hartley had been quick to take him under his wing and teach him everything he knew. Anything to make Jai feel wanted in a family that had big expectations, many of which Jai would never fulfill.

He had honestly thought Jai was starting to feel a little better. But now he wasn't so sure. He would just have to hurry and hope that he could help his sort-of-nephew in time.

* * *

 

Colin re-entered the bathroom to find Jai in much the same position. At least he'd moved his body-wash down to the ground level, and appeared to have rubbed it over himself a little bit.

"Hey," He greeted again, this time walking over to the glass panel enclosing the shower and kneeling down to be level with Jai. "I brought you some clothes. You should probably get dressed before Piper gets here," he gestured to the bundle in his arms.

Jai looked Colin up and down and nodded lazily, reaching up with one arm to turn off the stream. Colin gulped, and tried to ignore the small scars that lined Jai's arms, up from his wrist to his elbow. Usually he kept them covered with gloves and bracelets, to the point that most people forgot he had them, but he'd taken everything off. It was honestly a little weird, seeing Jai without most of his jewelry. He still had his earrings in, and the friendship bracelet that he'd tied around his ankle and usually kept hidden. And, surprisingly, a nipple piercing. Colin could have sworn that wasn't there the last time he saw Jai shirtless... but he couldn't entirely remember the last time he'd seen Jai shirtless anyway.

Colin grabbed a towel off the rack and passed it to Jai when he opened the door. Colin had never been one to be bothered by nudity - but after kissing Jai he felt the strangest feeling of awkwardness when he emerged naked from the shower. Jai didn't seem to pick up on that, though, simply drying off in front of Colin and reaching for his clothes. He was pretty off-balance, though, and Colin ended up having to help him stand upright while putting on his pants.

Once the pants were on, Jai let out a heavy sigh and pulled Colin in for a hug. "Thanks," Colin could barely hear the murmur against his shoulder.

"No worries," He was a little shaky as he said it, but he hugged Jai back quickly before reaching down for his shirt. "C'mon - I can help you brush your hair back on the sofa," He didn't want to risk going back to Jai's room until he was either ready to clean it himself, or knew that Jai had cleaned it beforehand.

Jai slipped into his shirt after a nod, and Colin picked up a hairbrush before helping his friend back towards the communal sofa. Even though it was late, now all three of the younger Titans were there, and they all looked up expectantly at Colin and Jai when they walked in. Colin had to hide his groan, but he still rolled his eyes at them and helped Jai sit down.

He began brushing Jai's hair carefully, making sure to put some of the hairbands that sat around his hairbrush onto his wrists before separating it into sections. Because Jai's hair was very thick, he always tended to section it off as he brushed it. Colin had watched him do it hundreds of times by now, but he still struggled a little with keeping the segments even. Jai didn't seem to notice, though. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying Colin's attention, leaning back into him and letting out a contented sigh.

The whole time, Colin could feel eyes watching him, and eventually he turned around to glare at the kids. "What's so interesting that you need to be watching this?" He demanded.

They exchanged glances between themselves, but none of them seemed to want to say anything. Josh, in particular, looked ashamed for having stared.

Eventually, Owen furrowed his brows and looked past Colin to Jai with concern. "Josh said Jai was sick. Is something wrong with him?"

Oh, of course. Colin was quick to reassure Owen that Jai would be okay - he just needed some help, which was on the way, and would be there soon. Colin tended to forget that Owen, by some standards, was actually Jai's family. In a convoluted sense, anyway. It made sense that the kid was worried about him, especially with what his relationships with the rest of the Flash family were like. Owen nodded, and gave a small sigh of relief, seemingly satisfied.

Spitfire was still glaring at him, though, and it had Colin a little bit on edge. He turned back to Jai and kept working on his hair, trying to ignore the kid. He jumped, however, and had to apologise quickly to Jai when he pulled his hair, when the voiceover announced Piper's arrival. He still had to make his way down from the landing pad, so Colin made quick work of pulling Jai's hair into a messy bun. It wasn't as polished as Jai usually liked to look, but it would have to do for now.

"Hi Piper," it was almost a full chorus greeting him when he walked out of the elevator, scrubby and tired-looking. Owen rushed over to hug him before murmuring something about bed and running off, and Josh did much the same, although his hug was a lot lighter and more brief.

Spitfire was the only one who didn't greet Piper, and upon being waved to, he looked away. He still had a lot of issues regarding the adults (understandably), and even the Titans' most trusted adults hadn't been able to get him to open up.

Piper shrugged off the dismissal as if it were nothing, and headed straight for Jai and Colin, kneeling down next to them. "Hey, Jai," He greeted after a moment, reaching up to pat his shoulder. "Do you know how much he drank?" He addressed the question to Colin, as Jai seemed to be falling into a lull.

"Um," He knew about the half-ish bottle of vodka, but he wasn't sure whether Jai had drunk any more than that. He wouldn't be surprised if he had, though. "A lot," He eventually supplied, "I found him with half a bottle of vodka left,"

Hartley's lips pursed, and he stood up, keeping his hand on Jai's shoulder. "I really don't want to drive home right now," He explained, "So I think we should just get him into bed for now. I'll stay up with him," because of all things, he wasn't going to let Jai die from choking on his own vomit.

Colin nodded, and stood up as well, fully prepared to help Piper get Jai safe.

"Up we get," Hartley had enough experience helping barely responsive people at the shelter that he moved automatically into autopilot. Colin helped Jai on one side, and Hartley on the other, and together they started walking him towards his room. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has really captured my attention. I have pretty solidly booked days until Sunday, so you probably won't get another update until Monday.

**Author's Note:**

> To be continued, I guess. 
> 
> Sorry for going so long without any content! And sorry for never updating anything else ever. [I made an art for this chapter](http://hesmiledlikeaweatherman.tumblr.com/image/176480922900)


End file.
